Well, the first day of Automation Fair 2013, Rockwell Automation's (RA) largest user conference, is almost a wrap.  The George Brown Convention Center in Houston was the setting for today's very busy activities- at the exhibition floor, packed sessions, hand-on demonstrations and industry workshops.

As my colleagues Peter Granger and Paul Didier describe in the video below, Cisco has now evolved to having a very pervasive presence at this event.  From our own booth (#1321) to presence in the Rockwell Automation Oil and Gas booth to the Industrial IP Advantage booth (#1223), our products and solutions are highlighted throughout the show floor and in several sessions.  It is particularly nice to know that we have evolved from showcasing from just a few products to having over 200 switches, routers and other industrial networking gear at the show floor.  And our partnership with RA has evolved and grown significantly too. There were only a handful of Cisco attendees at our first Automation Fair.  Now there are several dozen Cisco employees onsite in Houston, including key executives.

One of my initial impressions this year is how security is still a top of mind concern for many controls and operations professionals.  So, logically, visitors to the Cisco booth have been asking us for guidance on approaches and design considerations to address industrial security in their environment.  Another very popular demonstration in our booth is the video integration into FactoryTalk View.  This speaks to the maturing of manufacturing and industrial users, as companies look for another layer of convergence and the benefits of video and data that can be turned into action.

What do you think the hot topics are in industrial networking and factory automation? If you are here at Automation Fair, give us any other impressions from your perspective.  Watch this space for more blogs and videos tomorrow.  Thanks for reading!